Bob Hermann is the Washington County District Attorney. Mr. Hermann has been a prosecutor for Washington County, Oregon since 1975. He served as the Chief Deputy District Attorney from 1982 to 1998. Mr. Hermann has been the District Attorney since 1999 and is currently serving his fifth term of office.

Mr. Hermann represents his office and the County in a variety of capacities and roles for various organizations. Mr.

Mr. Hermann grew up in SW Portland. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Rhetoric from Willamette University in 1971 and his Juris Doctor from Willamette College of Law in 1974.

HILLSBORO, Ore. - The Washington County District Attorney’s Office, in partnership with the Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington County Circuit Court, Washington County Community Corrections, and Washington County Veterans Services, is proud to announce the Washington County Veterans Treatment Court (VTC). After more than a year of collaborative efforts, we have been able to forge a specialty court designed to treat the needs of military veterans. We recognize that military service can leave service members both physically and mentally scarred either from combat or other traumatic experiences. These service members often return to civilian life as a “different person,” and some of these veterans end up involved in the criminal justice system.

The VTC was designed with the belief that “if we broke them, then we must do what we can to fix them.” There has long-been a void in the criminal justice system when it comes to addressing the specific needs of veterans. Oftentimes, veterans are treated like other criminal defendants by correcting behavior and treating substance abuse, but not adequately addressing the underlying causes of a veteran’s criminal conduct, such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), depression, traumatic brain injury, etc. Our partnership with the Portland VA Healthcare System is focused on tailoring treatment to the specific needs of veterans using evidence-based methods that will get veterans back on track to being the persons they once were.

The VTC will involve intensive supervision and treatment of veterans, as well as wraparound services including housing and employment services. The multidisciplinary treatment team includes judges, prosecutors, a defense attorney, probation officers, VA representatives and veteran mentors, many of whom are also veterans. Eligible veterans will need to establish a connection between their military service and the charged criminal offense(s). Once accepted into the program, the treatment team will work to re-instill structure and discipline in the veteran’s life and provide the veteran with the tools and opportunities to demonstrate that he or she is better than the charged crime. We anticipate the average supervision period to last eighteen (18) months, with variation based upon the needs of individual veterans. Successful veterans may be able to receive a dismissal of the criminal case, reduction of a felony charge to a misdemeanor, or a sentence of discharge.

The VTC seeks to enhance community safety by getting veterans into the intensive treatment they need and helping to restore them as productive, law-abiding members of our community and families. The VTC will compliment Washington County’s robust, existing specialty courts and programs, including Drug Court, Mental Health Court, Family Sentencing Alternative Program, Domestic Violence Deferred Sentencing court, intensive drug and property probation, Early Case Resolution program and DUII Diversion court. We look forward to launching the Veterans Treatment Court in the summer of 2018.

On April, 3, 2018, the Washington County Board of Commissioners joined with communities around the nation in formally recognizing the second week of April as Washington County Crime Victim’s Rights Week. The commissioners invited District Attorney Hermann to address their work session with a presentation on county-wide efforts to assist victims and seek justice. DA Hermann explained the work of our Victim’s Assistance Department, as well as the efforts of our law enforcement and community partners to serve victims and protect our vulnerable populations. He was joined by Chief Deputy DA Kevin Barton, who spoke about four current events impacting crime victim assistance in Washington County, including the formation of a School Safety Task Force and the award of VOCA grant to help child sex trafficking victims.

Their full remarks can be seen in the videos below:

DA Hermann on Victim’s Services:

Chief DDA Barton on New and Upcoming Events:

HILLSBORO, Ore. – The Washington County District Attorney’s Office is announcing the creation of a School Safety Task Force formed in partnership with the Washington County Child Abuse Multidisciplinary Team (MDT).

The School Safety Task Force will work toward ensuring that schoolchildren, staff, and faculty are safe when they attend or work in Washington County public and private schools. The task force will consider a wide range of potential threats to school children. This will include evaluating initiatives to prevent school shootings and violence, as well as addressing cyber and online threats, sexting and sexual assaults, bullying, youth suicides, and drug endangerment. This task force will look for ways to compliment existing local, statewide, and national efforts to address school safety issues and focus on specific issues impacting Washington County schools.

Washington County is home to over 100,000 school-age children. All children, staff, and faculty in our schools have a right to a safe educational environment and the Washington County DA’s Office and Child Abuse MDT is committed to working to ensure that safety.

The School Safety Task Force will utilize the existing resources of the Washington County MDT, which is a public-private collaboration of representatives from various organizations who work to ensure the safety of children. The MDT has a long history of engaging in a multidisciplinary approach to enhance child safety.

The Washington County MDT is chaired by Chief Deputy DA Kevin Barton and includes members from the District Attorney’s Office, local law enforcement agencies, school districts, mental health professionals, the Department of Human Services (DHS), CARES Northwest, the Washington County Juvenile Department, Washington County Community Corrections, and the Washington County Health and Human Services Department.

On Thursday, January 25, 2018, Washington County Circuit Court Judge Oscar Garcia sentenced 36 year-old Ahmed Turay Jr to 70 months in prison for pimping out a 17 year-old female via the website backpage.com. Turay was arrested in September, 2017, during a sex trafficking sting operation focused on underage trafficking victims. Following a contentious three day trial that included frequent outbursts from the defendant and testimony from the victim, a Washington County jury unanimously convicted Turay of Compelling Prostitution.

On September 6, 2017, detectives with the Beaverton Police Department and the federal Child Exploitation Task Force arranged a “date” with a 17 year-old Washington girl featured in online prostitution ads on backpage.com. Undercover officers observed as the child arrived in a silver Mercedes Benz driven by Turay. When interviewed the child confirmed that she was there for prostitution and told investigators that Turay was holding money that she had made from previous prostitution activity. The victim estimated she made $15,000 to $20,000 over the course of the summer through prostitution activity with Turay. Led by Beaverton PD detective Chad Opitz, investigators recovered digital data from numerous other backpage.com ads as well as prostitution related communications from multiple cell phones in Turay’s vehicle.

At sentencing, Turay complained that he had been “attacked” by the State, before starting to argue with the judge as the sentence was imposed. Calling the State’s evidence “overwhelming,” Judge Garcia told Turay “you still don’t get, sir.” Turay responded “can we get this over with” as the 70 month sentence was imposed.

This case was prosecuted by Chief Deputy District Attorney Kevin Barton. The Washington County District Attorney’s Office is committed to investigating and prosecuting child sex trafficking cases in partnership with state and federal law enforcement.

For more information on the arrest: Beaverton Valley Times

On Friday, February 16, 2018, Washington County Circuit Court Judge Andy Erwin convicted 27 year-old Jordan Adam Sutherland of multiple incidents of domestic violence, including of Assault in the First Degree for pushing the mother of his infant son off a third-story balcony.

On the evening of September 11, 2017, multiple witnesses heard Sutherland loudly arguing with his 27 year-old girlfriend at the apartment they shared in Hillsboro. Shortly after she exclaimed “Don’t hurt me!” eyewitnesses saw Sutherland use two hands to push her off their balcony and onto the concrete below. Initial reports mistakenly informed police the victim was deceased, as frantic witnesses saw she was unconscious with blood pooling around her head. The victim was transported to Emmanuel Hospital where she was treated for a fractured spine and a large laceration on her head that required fourteen staples to close.

During the investigation officers learned of a previously unreported incident where Sutherland punched the victim and broke her jaw in mid-August, 2017. While Sutherland was lodged in the Washington County Jail for both of those assaults he also violated court no-contact orders with the victim and was charged with twelve separate counts of contempt. All of these charges were set for the same trial date.

During a week-long court trial before Judge Erwin the defense argued that Sutherland had been heroically trying to save his girlfriend as she fell from the balcony during a misguided suicide attempt. Sutherland testified that he held onto the victim as long as possible as she dramatically hung from the ledge. He was supported by his cousin and the victim, who was uncooperative with the investigation and prosecution. Sutherland’s mother, who had the couple’s baby at the time of the incident, was also in attendance but had to be ordered out of the courtroom twice by Judge Erwin due to her behavior.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Jeff Lesowski successfully argued that the State’s eyewitnesses and physical evidence were more credible than Sutherland’s implausible story. Sentencing is scheduled for February 27, 2018, at 1:30pm in Courtroom 422J.